Saturday, 1 March 2014

20-Year-Old Vine Star Marcus Johns Earns Spot on Oscars Red Carpet

LOS ANGELES — Vine user Marcus Johns, whose quirky six-second clips on Twitter's video platform have elevated his fan base to more than 4 million followers, is taking his talents to the Academy Awards on March 2.As the fifth most-followed person on Vine, the 20-year-old has earned himself a coveted spot on the Oscars red carpet, where online movie ticketer Fandango has hired him to be its social media correspondent during the star-studded festivities.He's kept the red carpet role a secret to his followers — and even family — until now. "My mom found out when I was on the plane," Johns told Mashableafter flying from his home state of Florida to Hollywood this week, adding that Fandango President Paul Yanover’s teenaged daughter is a "huge fan," which helped lead to this gig.This isn't the first time a Vine star has joined the red carpet tango — the flashy dance that until recent years remained between celebrities and media outlets. Other Vine users have been roped into working the MTV Video Music Awards, Emmys and movie premieres. Johns' presence goes beyond Vine. People may also recognize him from Instagram, Twitter or the cameos he's made as a child actor in such films as 2004's The Punisher(Will Castle).Two of Johns' most-viral Vine videos include these two funny gems:On Oscar Sunday, Johns will man his personal accounts as well as take over Fandango's Instagram account and provide content for Fandango's YouTube channel. "With a bigger focus on social media in our coverage of this year's Oscars, we knew that Marcus would serve as the perfect creative force for our social media correspondent on the red carpet," Sandro Corsaro, Fandango's chief creative officer, told Mashable. "We're encouraging Marcus to have fun capturing his first time at the Academy Awards, and we're confident the fans will also enjoy the ride."He'll be armed with three mobile devices to accomplish his job, and this will be his second time in a tux. He's calling his outfit choice "a clean James Bond look," which he teased on Instagram, though he'll be wearing a bowtie instead of the skinny tie Sunday."We're regular people and that's why all of these people are attracted to Viners," Johns said. "People think, 'It's so cool that Marcus Johns had an iPhone, the same exact thing as me, and he did it,' you know."Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.